Parenthood
by Adventuresomely
Summary: It takes two to make one.


Sometimes, I can't help but wonder about people and why they are the way they are. Now, don't get me wrong when I say that; I love people a lot. It's just hard for me to understand their reasoning on some things. Growingolder now and becoming an adult, I find myself questioning the way things are run a little bit more than I used to. Maybe it's because of how I was raised; in a family full of girls with a father who wasn't around very much, but I really feel for equality no matter what gender, race, sexual orientation, or whatever is picked out by society as a minority.

For as long as I've known it, people have always been looked down on for their differences. Why, though? The honest truth is that nobody's any better than anyone else, for any physical reason. So why do people judge each other the way they do? I ask myself that a lot, but I can only come up with one, simple, logical response. People are terrified of differences because they can't understand them. It's similar to how I was shunned by people for having the bizarre powers I have. Fear is the source of all the chaos in the world.

For the longest time after we came back from our adventure, my girlfriend Paula was picked on for dressing like a traditional female and enjoying 'girly' things like cooking, cleaning and sewing. It probably happened before I met her, too. Some days she'd come crying to me when her 'friends' excluded her from doing things because she was being herself. Other days she'd force a smile and pretend it didn't bother her, but honestly she's not the best actor there ever was. It was frustrating that I couldn't do anything to protect the one girl I loved with all my heart, but what could I honestly do? A parent can't protect their child from all the dangers of the world, and a decent boyfriend can't protect their beloved from all the ignorant assholes, either.

Those troubles continued on for five years after we originally got together. Five years of strain because people couldn't understand individuality and the fact that Paula didn't want to conform to what the new normal was. It was hard on us both, quite frankly. There was times that I, the even-tempered boy who rarely fought unless he had to, wanted to go and kick people's asses for what they were doing to her. The only reason I held back was because Paula told me to. She had to hold me back, because it's deep-rooted nature to fight for the people I care about.

Regardless, I stayed by her side for those five years and we grew up together, becoming closer and closer the older we got. We were one of the oddball pairs who actually stayed together all through our bumpy teen years, but why wouldn't we? There was always something about us that clicked, and the fact that we shared psychic abilities only helped to draw us closer in our relationship. Unlike what people seem to think, opposites generally don't attract, our similarities kept us together.

Finally, when I was eighteen years old and had graduated high school_,_ I started to take to pondering marriage and perhaps starting a family with Paula. We'd already considered it for a long time during our school lives. It was a real possibility now that we were both officially adults who could live our lives. It seemed like a perfect dream, to finally move away from past judgments and problems. To finally begin our lives together like we'd always planned as kids. Things would be easier this way.

Everything seemed so perfect for that moment while I had all these plans to be put into action, anywhere between a few months to a year. It didn't seem like anything could go wrong or disrupt those plans, because everything was set into order perfectly. I even had a good idea of where I was going to apply for work and a decent estimate of how much money I'd make at my job.

A call one night caught me completely off guard and knocked me flat on my ass.

At around three in the morning, the phone rang in the living room and I rushed out to answer it. I couldn't help but wonder who would call so early, aside from maybe prank callers. I couldn't have been more wrong, though. Picking up the phone and answering with a somewhat irritated sounding 'hello?', I was immediately greeted with Paula's voice. She sounded both excited and…Scared?

"N-Ness…There's something I have to tell you…"

That instinctively made me tense, halfway expecting the worst to happen_._ Last time I'd heard similar words, my dad had been rushed to the hospital because of a heart attack. I really didn't want to hear something like thatagain... Yet her excitement betrayed something else.

"What happened, Paula?" Was my response to her, a curious hint in my voice. I couldn't help the slight fear that crept along as well, still very much braced for the worst if it should be that.

"I'm pregnant…"

…Two words I hadn't expected to hear for a while longer. Definitely two words that I hadn't braced myself for and didn't quite know how to handle. I gulped, falling silent as I held the phone loosely in an ever-so-slightly trembling hand. I was going to be a father soon! Part of me was ecstatic at the revelation, yet another part of me was absolutely terrified. We'd only recently graduated and I hadn't even started applying for work yet. We didn't have a house of our own and honestly, I had no idea how to raise a kid.

It was all so sudden and unexpected; I was lost to thought and didn't even notice Paula on the phone asking me if I was alright.

Eventually I snapped back to reality, stuttering rather audibly into the phone.

"S-Sorry… You're… You're pregnant? Oh wow… I… Jeez, I guess I better start looking for a job now, huh?" I let out a slight laugh, trying to make the situation a bit more lighthearted. I got a small laugh in return.

"I'm… I'm not very far along… We have time to get things in order… Please don't worry, Ness."

That, at the very least, was a relief. It shouldn't take more than a few months for me to get a decent job and a place for us both, I reasoned. It'd be a little hard to explain this to mine and Paula's parents, but I was sure in the end they would understand. They were nothing but supportive, after all.

"Right… I'll be over there in a little bit, Paula. We're… We're going to make great parents."

At that moment, I wasn't exactly sure whether or not I was saying that to reassure her or to reassure myself. Our lives would never be the same again…And I was okay with that, this time around.

On the trip to Paula's house, one thought occurred to me about what I'd considered all along to be true.

Everyone was equal and everyone was beautiful. Without variety in the world, nothing would be the same and everything would be bland. Without variety in the world, I wouldn't be with Paula now and I most certainly wouldn't be a soon-to-be father.

It takes two to make one, after all.


End file.
